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Can a chance encounter turn into a timeless love?
One birthday. One island escape. One second chance she never expected.
On the eve of her fiftieth birthday, Belinda McGuire’s marriage ends and her carefully built future disappears overnight. Rather than endure sympathy and small talk at home, she escapes to a villa in Malta, hoping sun, sea and some seriously strong cocktails will help heal her broken heart.
What she doesn’t expect is that the villa’s onsite chef is her first love Noah, all grown up, seriously handsome, and impossible to ignore.
But when her grown-up children, estranged sister, and ex-husband arrive, old wounds and misunderstandings threaten to derail everything. Caught between the past she survived and the future she might still claim, Belinda must decide whether Malta is simply an escape, or the place where her life truly begins again.
Escape to the sublime in this feel-good story of love, family and second chances.
‘Captivating, romantic and gorgeously evocative’ ISABELLE BROOM
‘Escapist and immersive, a joy to read’ KILEY DUNBAR
‘Heart-warming and feel-good’ CRESSIDA McLAUGHLIN
Your favourite authors love Joy’s books too!
‘Captivating, romantic and gorgeously evocative’ ISABELLE BROOM
‘Escapist and immersive, a joy to read’ KILEY DUNBAR
‘Heart-warming and joyful, an escapist treat’ SHARON GOSLING
‘Sweet, romantic and fabulous fun’ MILLY JOHNSON
‘Heart-warming and feel-good’ CRESSIDA McLAUGHLIN
‘A funny and heartfelt reminder that we always get a second chance at happiness. I loved it!’ REBECCA RYAN
‘A perfect beach read’ EMMA STEELE
Joy lives on the beautiful island of Corfu with her four dogs and a ridiculous number of cats. Her many years working in the tourism industry and her love of love stories inspired her debut romance novel, Corfu Capers, and she has been writing ever since. She loves to cook, dance and drink wine, usually at the same time, and is currently working on the eighth novel in the Sublime Retreats Romance series – Moonlight Over Morocco - due to be released later this year. You can follow Joy on Instagram and X, and sign up to her newsletter via her website to be the first to hear all the Sublime Retreats gossip, and read her Hidden Gems travel guides.